Social TV and Internet-connected cars were two big themes at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year. The idea, of course, is integrating the latest social media apps into TV sets and cars, two technologies that are already central to the lives of most people. Both trends are popular technology predictions for 2012.
Social media was a big theme at the 2011 CES gadget extravaganza, too, but this year it is becoming even more apparent how much people want social media to be a key part of almost all the technologies they use.Socializing Your TV Experience
Television companies and Internet media pioneers are both trying to incorporate social media into the television experience in new ways. This powerful and important social TV trend remains in its infancy.
Among the related announcements at CES:
- MySpace TV is a forthcoming social TV app from the new owners of the beleaguered social networking company MySpace. Specific Media, the firm that bought MySpace last year, trotted out Justin Timberlake at CES to tout the MySpace TV product it plans to bring to market in the middle of 2012 in partnership with Panasonic. The core idea is to offer companion tablet and cellphone apps that will let people stream music videos on their TV sets and interact with other people in real time. MySpace TV plans to start with music before expanding into regular TV programming.
- Yahoo showed a new version of IntoNow, an iPad app that it bought last year. The new version integrates Facebook more directly into the social TV service. Like most major Web portals, Yahoo has been trying to get a toehold in the Internet TV and social television business, with little success so far.
- GetGlue is a pioneering social media app designed to let people "check in" to TV shows they're watching and communicate with others watching the same programs. The startup showcased its app at CES and announced major funding and audience milestones. Forbes summarized the early success of GetGlue.
- DirecTV announced an integration with the Facebook platform to let DirecTV subscribers see what their Facebook pals are watching and automatically record or watch those shows.
- Other Facebook apps for social TV -- Facebook's open software platform was on display throughout CES, including other TV, video and radio apps. Apps showing new Facebook integration included Xbox Kinect, Zeebox TV sharing, and Trident TV sharing.
Connecting Cars and Social Media
Auto makers have been plugging the Internet into their vehicles for years, but the connected car category had one of its biggest years at the CES gadget fest this year:
Among the major announcements:
- Mercedes-Benz showed off a new in-car telematics system designed to make it easy for drivers to use Facebook, Yelp and other social apps in their roadsters. Basically, it enhances the previous Internet menu appearing on the Mercedes in-car dashboard to add selected social media apps. Some of those apps will be integrated into the car's GPS navigation system, too, allowing drivers to pick a restaurant recommended on Facebook or Yelp and have the car navigate to it. The apps won't appear in Mercedes vehicles until the 2013 models roll out. CNet published a good summary of the new Mercedes system and another on the larger trend of connecting cars to the Internet.
- Car sharing through social media seems like a stretch. Mercedes-Benz executive Dieter Zetsche also announced a new initiative called CarTogether that is a pilot of sorts to explore the possibilities of using social media for drivers to find potential passengers for car-sharing. The goal is to reduce pollution emissions by making it easy to share rides. Who would have thought Mercedes would be one of the companies to tout such a concept?
- TomTom Adds Facebook, Twitter to its navigation system. At CES, TomTom showed a preview of its forthcoming app for the Apple mobile devices that integrates more easily with Facebook and Twitter, so people using TomTom devices can navigate to places and events recommended by others more faster. TomTom also announced a deal to integrate its app more tightly into Samsung's latest smart phone.
